PvP, Game Tables, and you!

In the week of August 27th we're introducing the first stage of combat to the worlds of Landmark: PvP. This update allows you to place a game table on your claim(s) and convert them to PvP arenas in which you can challenge your friends, enemies, and any who dare to enter!

Please note: PvP is entirely optional and consensual. If you don't want to PvP, then you don't need to. However, we appreciate everyone who does wish to try it out sending us feedback so we can improve!

This update introduces:

death (there is currently no death penalty ... yet)

falling damage (suspended if you're on your own claim or a claim you have building privileges)

3 temporary weapon types (these will likely be removed/replaced later after further refinement)

new combat mode UI including armor, health, and stamina (automatically displayed when a weapon is equipped)

proximity mines and some other new props that, while not PvP-specific, may make your arenas more interesting!

There is much more coming to combat in Landmark and this is only the first stage. Remember to keep your eyes on the Blueprint for regular updates on upcoming features and approximately what stage we expect to be working on them!

The quick overview

First, obtain a game table.These are crafted on the tinker's workshop and can be placed on your claim like props.

Second, place the game table on your claim, and click it to adjust the game setting variables to your preference. Currently, the game table will affect all claims attached to the one it is placed in.

Third, open the prop settings tab and place the props that are required for your game. In the case of a Zone Control game you are required to place at least 1 control point and one spawn point per team. You can place additional props of each type as you see fit.

Finally, enable the game! Players can join using a button on your claim banner. When enough people join, the game begins.

Players will need to bring a weapon, which they can craft at the forge.

Read on for more specific details...

Weapons

Initially, there will be three new weapons available for testing combat. These are crafted on the forge, and cost no resources.

Remember to craft yourself a weapon before joining a PvP match!

As we continue to refine combat, these weapons may be updated or replaced, and more weapon types will be added based on your feedback and the data we gather.

Conjurer’s staff

Energy Burst: launch five energy orbs that each deal minor damage to the first enemy hit.

Gravity Shock: shift the gravity in an area, instantly stunning and dealing heavy damage to all nearby enemies and leaving behind a gravity swell that slows the movement speed of all enemies inside of it.

Marksman’s bow

Quick Shot: shoot an arrow that deals moderate damage to the first enemy hit. Marked enemies take double damage and are knocked backwards.

Sniper’s Mark: fire an enchanted arrow that deals heavy damage and marks the first enemy hit.

There are currently three types of game table available, each corresponding to a game type:

Zone Control - teams capture a control point by clicking on it. The player who captures the control point gains points immediately; in addition, at set time intervals, teams gain points for every control point in their possession. By default, kills are not worth any points, although this can be changed.

Free-for-all Deathmatch - there are no teams, everyone is your target and the one with most kills wins.

Team Deathmatch - teams compete for most kills.

Each game table has three areas that can be changed:

General Settings - general settings for the game, this is the same between all game types

Gameset Settings - settings specific to the particular game type

Prop Settings - settings for the game props related to this game type (e.g. spawn points, control points)

General Settings:

These general settings control the number of teams and game-related details. These settings are similar for all game types.

"Is Free-for-all" is not currently supported - in the future it will convert the game into a free-for-all fight ignoring teams. Ignore for now!

Number of teams is currently limited to 2 for this first phase of testing, although we expect to allow more in the future.

A minimum of 2 and maximum of 8 players are allowed per team at present (16 players total for a free-for-all deathmatch).

Max Join Time in Queue: Max Join Time in Queue is the amount of time a player has to accept a join invite once they have been admitted to the game.

Max Offline Time in Queue: Max Offline Time in Queue is the amount of time a player will remain in the queue if they go offline.

Max Offline Time in Game: Max Offline Time in Game is the amount of time a player will remain in the game if they go offline.

Game Type settings:

Zone Control game type:

Time limit: how long the game lasts (in seconds)

Team point limit: first team to reach this number of points wins

Points per capture: one-time point bonus for capturing the control point

Points per objective: how many points the team gets each time interval for each control point held

Objective score interval: how many seconds between each point increment for holding control points (for example, if this is set to 60 and 'points per objective' is set to 10, then every 60 seconds a team holding 2 control points would get 20 points added to the team score.)

Time to capture: how long the capture of a control point takes to complete (the progress bar)

Respawn delay: the number of seconds delay between a player dying and respawning at a spawn point

Points per kill: this will award points for killing players on the opposing team.

Penalty per death: this will deduct points from a team for each death of a team member.

Free-for-all deathmatch game type:

Time limit: how long the game lasts (in seconds)

Points per kill: how many points a player gains per player killed

Penalty per death: how many points a player loses if they are killed

Points per kill assist: NOTE: THIS IS NOT YET WORKING. In the future it will be how many points a player gains for assisting in a kill.

Point limit: first player to reach this number of points wins

Penalty per self kill: how many points a player loses if they kill themselves

Respawn delay: the number of seconds delay between a player dying and respawning at a spawn point

Team deathmatch game type:

Points per kill: how many points a player gains per player killed

Penalty per death: how many points a player loses if they are killed

Time limit: how long the game lasts (in seconds)

Team point limit: first team to reach this number of points wins

Penalty per self kill: how many points a player loses if they kill themselves

Respawn delay: the number of seconds delay between a player dying and respawning at a spawn point

The prop settings tab allows you to place and manage game props such as control points and respawn points.

Initially the tab will simply list all the possible game prop types that can be for the game. These are highlighted in gold to indicate they are not actual placed game props yet, just available ones. The game prop listed varies depending on the game type, for example, the zone control prop settings tab shows both control points and respawn points:

Each type of game prop will show whether it's required or optional. Clicking the + beside each will add one to the list; it will appear on your cursor ready to be placed:

Once placed, it will show on the list. "Real" placed game props show in blue, the available game props list remains highlighted in gold and can be used to add more game props if needed.

In the future we may add individual settings to the game props, but for now they are simple items to place.

Beside the placed game props are two icons: a yellow magnifying glass which will teleport you to the game prop so you can find it; and a red X which will delete the game prop.

Note that the option to add another control point is still shown below in gold, but it's now listed as optional, rather than required.

Enabling the game

Once you have placed all the game props and confirmed all the settings are as desired, you will also want to edit your claim in the claim management window (U) to change the details appropriately for your game type, so that players know what to expect.

Once everything is ready, it's time to apply your settings and enable the game. At the bottom of the game table settings window are three buttons: Default (restores all settings to the default); Apply (confirms any changes you've made); and Enable Game.

Once the game is enabled, the claim banner will change. It will now look like this (name and game description come from what you wrote in the claim management window):

Anybody on your claim will be able to click the "Join Queue" button.

On the map view, PvP-enabled claims will also now show a crossed-swords icon so they can easily be found.

Joining a Game

Click on the "Join Queue" button in the claim banner of a PvP-enabled claim. This will place you in a queue. The number of players needed for the game is based on the game settings on the game table object. Once enough players are queued to start the game, another window will prompt players to join:

Once players have joined, a count down will display and players will be assigned to a group and teleported to one of the spawn points to start the match.

NOTE: if you leave the island or the world while queued for a match, you will be removed from the queue.

Players who are on the claim when a game starts but who do not join the game will be teleported outside the claim for the duration of the match.

Players who wish to join the game late can enter the edge of the claim and join via the claim banner if there is still room in the match.

If you wish to leave the game before it ends normally, you can click the "Leave Game" button in the claim banner. This will remove you from the game and teleport you off the claim.

Remember to equip a weapon when you join a game!

Playing the games!

Each game type has a slightly different goal. At the top of your screen, you'll see a summary of the current score (your team is indicated by a small arrow on theleft) and score required to win, as well as a reminder what type of game you're playing and the time remaining. For the Zone Control game type shown below, you'll also see a number of squares corresponding to the control points it's possible to capture. As these are captured, they will fill in a solid color matching the team that has control of them. Unclaimed control points will remain blank.

To see more details of the current score, holding down the tab key will bring up the scoreboard. The currently winning team will be indicated with a small crown icon. Individual kills, deaths, and scores are listed in the scoreboard; note that the team's total score will not be a sum of the individual scores during the Zone Control game type, since the team score ticks up over time based on the control points that are owned.

NOTE: there is a new setting under "game settings" which allows you to turn on/off the visible claim boundaries for PvP matches.

Terrain destruction

Some of the combat abilities cause damage to voxels. Fear not! When the PvP match ends, all voxel damage should be reset, you do not need to manually repair your PvP arena.

On a related note, use of building tools is disabled when a PvP match is active. No deleting holes out from under your enemies!

Landmines and other hazards

While not directly related to PvP, a number of new props have been introduced in this update that can be used to enhance your PvP experience. This includes moving platforms, flingers, teleporters, and proximity mines - all of which can be crafted at the Tinker's Workshop. Most notably, mines will trigger a count down when any player approaches too closely, and will explode at the end of the count down causing severe damage to anyone too close. These may add an additional element of danger to a PvP match - so listen carefully for the countdown sound! (Proximity mines can be placed on non-PvP enabled claims and will still explode, but will not actually do damage.)

Armor, Health, and Death

Equipping a weapon will change your camera perspective to the combat view. This view will also add a combat reticule (this is a white circle which turns red if you're targeting an enemy you can hit) indicating where your attack will hit, as well as a small number beside the reticule indicating the distance to your target. You will also see your armor and health to the left side of your character, and your energy to the right. Armor is a yellow bar, and health is a red bar beside the armor bar. Damage is first taken off the armor bar, and when the armor is depleted, then the health bar is reduced.

Armor will regenerate if you are not hit for approximately 10 seconds (this value may be adjusted in the future based on feedback). If your health bar reaches 0, you die.

When you die during a PvP match, you will see a count-down timer whose value is based on the "respawn delay" that was set on the game table for this match. Once the timer reaches 0, you will respawn at one of the respawn points for your team (or a neutral point, for the free-for-all deathmatch game type).

If a friendly ally is near you, they can revive your corpse on the spot so you don't return to a respawn point (by using the F key to interact with your body). This takes a few seconds, and depending on the game's respawn delay this may or may not be practical for a particular PvP arena. This will be up to the game owner who configures the settings.

If you happen to die outside a PvP game, your allies can also revive you similarly.

Question: If your PvP arena is 4 claims. Can a PVP prop, (such as aTranslocation Pad, that has two placable elements) be placed in one claim and the destination marker in another adjacent claim? In other words. Does the 4 claim PvP area become on big claim or does the prop claim specific limitations still apply?

“Question: If your PvP arena is 4 claims. Can a PVP prop, (such as aTranslocation Pad, that has two placable elements) be placed in one claim and the destination marker in another adjacent claim? In other words. Does the 4 claim PvP area become on big claim or does the prop claim specific limitations still apply?”

Translocation pads and such are not PvP specific props, they are useful and intended for non-combat claims also. So the same rules that apply to them in regular claims would still hold true in a PvP-enabled claim. The range limit on a translocation pad does not change.

I just have one question, while using a weapon, how will movement be effected? I personally use the "W" Key and then the right mouse button to move. (haven't played much of tera or ESO) so I am not sure how this would quiet work for someone like me.

“Question: If your PvP arena is 4 claims. Can a PVP prop, (such as aTranslocation Pad, that has two placable elements) be placed in one claim and the destination marker in another adjacent claim? In other words. Does the 4 claim PvP area become on big claim or does the prop claim specific limitations still apply?”

Prop claim specific limitations still apply. I believe they covered this during SOE Live. All parts of the mover props must remain within the same claim (or attachment claim).

As I play this as a harvesting, collecting, building and exploring game I do not like the falling damage at all. Also for this kind of gameplay you just do not need falling damage. Since PvP is limited to claims, it makes even less sense. Spelunking will become a nightmare.

I sincerely hope that you will include an option to switch off falling damage for those players that just want to harvest resources and build with it. That way those who want the extra kick get it and the harvesters and builders can play their way.

my 2 cants initially are..please reconsider allowing players to use their normally equipped tools as weapons..such as pick scythe etc....may not prove important for PvP but in PvE it will certainly be a factor not to mention great fun to bash a chomper with a pick.

“As I play this as a harvesting, collecting, building and exploring game I do not like the falling damage at all. Also for this kind of gameplay you just do not need falling damage. Since PvP is limited to claims, it makes even less sense. Spelunking will become a nightmare.

I sincerely hope that you will include an option to switch off falling damage for those players that just want to harvest resources and build with it. That way those who want the extra kick get it and the harvesters and builders can play their way.”

this holds true I think till PvE is in game.....for instance what happens if a mob has the ability to toss a player?..falling damage matters there...maybe it should be falling damage in combat only.

“I just have one question, while using a weapon, how will movement be effected? I personally use the "W" Key and then the right mouse button to move. (haven't played much of tera or ESO) so I am not sure how this would quiet work for someone like me.”

In combat mode, your view moves with your mouse so you don't need to hold down right mouse button (or any other button) other than W to move forward. Speaking from my own experience (since I do the same as you) this will take a little getting used to and you may find yourself shooting the ground a few times, but you'll get the hang of it with a bit of practice. And of course this only affects PvP mode, normal movement outside of a match remains the same.

Ok thank you Btw .. I think when ShadyEndless asked his question I think he was referring to can you turn a 4x Claim into 1 large PvP Claim or is it limited to the 1 claim that the game table is located in.